Abstract

The website schema is conceptualized as the consumer's set of beliefs about information locations, and routes to those locations, on a website. A meta-analysis of three studies, one of them with a student sample and two with consumer samples, provides evidence that congruence between a consumer's website schema and the actual structure of a particular site is associated with the site being rated easier to navigate, a more favorable attitude toward brands advertised on the site, and higher quality brand decisions. These studies provide evidence of the importance of the website schema for understanding consumer response to websites.